USVI Veteran License Plates and Driver License Designation

Policy Letter 1 of April 15, 2020 governs the plates. Any person verified by the Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs as a veteran, as defined in 20 V.I.C. chapter 31, who is a registered owner or lessee of a passenger vehicle registered with the Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles, may apply for veteran's licence plates at no cost. Read "at no cost" precisely. The plates are free; the registration is not. The policy letter says twice that the price of the registration process is determined by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the office's 2025 summary repeats it: "Fees associated with the registration must be paid by the Veteran." How many sets. There is a live conflict in the territory's own documents and it is worth knowing before you ask for a third set. Policy Letter 1 of April 15, 2020 states: "Only two (2) sets of plates are authorized per Veteran or Gold Star Family." The Office of Veterans Affairs summary of local benefits revised March 14, 2025 states: "Up to 3 FREE sets of Veterans License Plates; however, only one disabled licensed plate per eligible Veteran." The summary is five years newer and is the office's current public statement; the policy letter says it remains in effect unless changed or rescinded by the current Director. This catalog records both rather than picking one. Ask the office which governs, and get the answer before you buy registrations you cannot use. Gold Star plates. Families designated as Gold Star Families are authorised to receive a Gold Star Plate issued by the Office of Veterans Affairs at no cost, two plates per family. The policy letter sets the order of issue: father, mother, child from eldest to youngest. The vehicle must be registered in that particular family member's name. The disabled plate. The 2025 summary provides for a disabled licence plate for veterans holding a permanent and total disability designation based on military service, documented on the Benefit Summary Letter obtained from the Veterans Benefits Administration, and gives the VBA number as 1-800-827-1000. Only one disabled plate per eligible veteran. The office announced availability of these plates in a press release dated October 5, 2023. Replacement after theft. If any plate issued by the Office of Veterans Affairs is stolen, the veteran or Gold Star family member must file a report at the police station and bring a copy of that report to the Office of Veterans Affairs before a new set can be issued. The gatekeeping form. No veteran plate will be registered by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles unless a "Veteran Eligibility Form - Vehicle Registration" is issued by the Office of Veterans Affairs. Start there. The driver licence designation. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles now places a "Veteran" designation on a Virgin Islands driver's licence or territorial identification card, which the office announced in a press release on October 5, 2023. The 2025 summary notes that the designation includes Virgin Islands National Guard retirees with twenty or more years, and lists the designation among the benefits for Virgin Islands Veterans only. That designation is worth getting for a reason beyond identification: every territorial benefit here runs through Office of Veterans Affairs certification, and a licence that states your status on its face is easier to carry and produce than a DD214. A disabled parking decal has its own statutory test. 20 V.I.C. § 436(b), as amended by Act No. 8734 (Bill 35-0035), approved in August 2023, defines "disabled veteran" for the disabled window decal as a person designated as such by federal law, shown by a VA Benefit Summary Letter that identifies the veteran as "permanently disabled" or "totally and permanently disabled" for injuries that are service-related and suffered while serving in the armed forces or a reserve component, and moved the certifying role in paragraph (1) from the federal VA to the Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs. No percentage appears in the test; the words on the benefit summary letter do the work, so ask VA for a letter that states permanence.